Action packed and wellpaced, the story's depth incorporates artful negotiation, the importance of education, and citizens' equality and rights. This final installment of The Princess Academy trilogy certainly leaves room for more books if Hale were so inclined. Won't she reconsider?” —starred review, Booklist
“Miri, as spunky and smart as ever, returns in the final book of the award-winning Princess Academy trilogy. . . . Hale maintains her high quality of storytelling, with lots of action, plot twists and lyrical writing. . . . A laudable conclusion to a popular series.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Hale once again manages to create a cast of female characters diverse in their qualities and distinctly individual, offering an inclusive portrait of what girlhood and womanhood look like. ” —BCCB
“Hale keeps the action taut and the young women smart and savvy. . . A decade after the Newbery Honor-winning Princess Academy was published, this third and possibly final installment in the series will please old and new fans alike.” —School Library Journal
“As always, Hale is a terrific storyteller: she deftly juggles plot, character, and setting; her prose is lyrical yet economical; and the themes of feminism and equality that run throughout the trilogy blossom in the resolution of this concluding volume. Readers will be sad to say goodbye, not just to Miri and company but also to Danland itself.” —The Horn Book
“Powerful and deeply engaging.” —Kirkus Reviews on PALACE OF STONE
“Palace of Stone . . . proves once again that with quick wit and brave words, one person really can change the world.” —School Library Journal on PALACE OF STONE
“The book is a fresh approach to the traditional princess story with unexpected plot twists and great emotional resonance.” —2006 Newbery Committee on PRINCESS ACADEMY
“This is not a fluffy, predictable fairy tale. . . . Instead Hale weaves an intricate, multilayered story about families, relationships, education, and the place we call home.” —starred review, School Library Journal on PRINCESS ACADEMY
06/01/2015
Gr 4–7—Miri is on her way back to wed Peder when the king asks her to educate three unruly sisters. As in the previous novels, Hale keeps the action taut and the young women smart and savvy. Things end happily ever after, with a satisfying twist. A decade after the Newbery Honor-winning Princess Academy was published, this third and possibly final installment in the series will please old and new fans alike.
2014-12-06
Miri, as spunky and smart as ever, returns in the final book of the award-winning Princess Academy trilogy. At the end of her year at the titular academy, Miri is anxious to return to Mount Eskel and have her betrothal to Peder proclaimed. On the day of departure, however, the king requests that she travel to Lesser Alva, a swampy outer territory, to conduct a princess academy for three sisters. He hopes to prevent war by presenting them as potential brides for the king of a neighboring kingdom, who's possibly bent on invading. Miri finds herself bitten by snakes, wrestling caiman for food, eating rats and teaching the uncivilized sisters how to be bandits before she can teach them how to read. After uncovering a long-buried secret, Miri is fierce in righting wrongs, showing once again that one person can change the world. In a nice, feminist, concluding twist, a prince academy is established to groom a spouse for the new crown princess. Although not a traditional fairy tale, the ending is a happily-ever-after one. Strong female characters and themes of education, negotiation, family and equality are repeated in this conclusion. Hale maintains her high quality of storytelling, with lots of action, plot twists and lyrical writing. The cover is younger in style than and lacks the gravitas of the previous books' covers. A laudable conclusion to a popular series. (Fantasy. 10-14)
